Automation offers a plethora of opportunities across projects and industries. For instance, United Airlines is spearheading automation initiatives through the Harness software development platform, leveraging AI to streamline DevOps processes and facilitate continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD). The impact has been profound, with software deployment cycles accelerated by 75% and build processes slashed from 22 minutes to just five.
The success story at United Airlines is not an isolated one. Across industries, companies are embracing automation to enhance productivity and drive innovation. Research conducted by Stonebranch reveals that 86% of organizations planned to integrate new automation platforms in 2023. If you are a little late to the trend, don’t worry. Below, we discuss four essential automation tools to help scale your business and get you started on the path to success.
Jenkins for software development
Jenkins is one of the most commonly used open-source automation servers, alongside Harness and others. It operates on a server-based architecture, where developers configure ‘jobs’ to automate specific tasks in the software development lifecycle. These jobs can be scheduled or triggered by events like code commits or pull requests.
Jenkins also integrates with version control systems such as Git, enabling continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipelines. In 2023, its upgraded CloudBees Continuous Integration software featured high availability and horizontal scalability, further eliminating the bottlenecks of large-scale CI/CD workloads. The new performance-enhancing capabilities, such as workspace caching to speed up builds and a new AI-powered pipeline explorer, also allow for easier and faster debugging, ensuring consistent quality across releases.
Trello for project management
Managing tasks and workflows can be complex in the realm of IT and software development. Trello simplifies this process by offering a visual platform where teams can organize tasks, track progress, and collaborate seamlessly.
With customizable boards and drag-and-drop functionality, Trello empowers teams to structure projects in a way that aligns with their technical workflows. Meanwhile, Butler is Trello’s intuitive interface and powerful automation tool, which can learn from user interactions and suggest relevant automation processes for repetitive tasks. It can also integrate with other platforms, such as updating Jira tickets or sending notifications via Slack, ensuring teams can focus on high-priority initiatives.
Softrax for revenue management
As companies expand their offerings and customer base, ensuring accurate billing and revenue recognition becomes increasingly complex. This is especially important for IT and software development businesses that operate on subscription-based revenue models or offer a variety of pricing structures.
In this case, Softrax emerges as a crucial automation tool, optimizing pricing strategies, streamlining billing processes, and ensuring compliance with regulatory standards such as ASC 606 / IFRS 15. On top of those features, Softrax has consumption billing features that are tailored to the needs of scaling IT enterprises. This includes metered billing scenarios, where billing is based on actual usage or consumption metrics. All of these help facilitate automated updates of data-driven pricing across the system.
Skiller Whale for upskilling
While not a traditional automation tool per se, Skiller Whale automates aspects of the learning process to facilitate skill-building within a business. The software crafts learning plans based on thorough skill and gap analyses, adjusting according to learner feedback, manager feedback, and code metrics. This data-driven approach enables organizations to identify areas for improvement and make informed decisions about future training investments.
Moreover, the skills and knowledge gained through its courses can contribute to automation efforts within IT and software development companies. For example, employees who undergo training on DevOps technologies through Skiller Whale may subsequently apply their newfound expertise to automate deployment processes within their organization using tools like Docker or Kubernetes.
By leveraging these tools effectively, businesses can achieve greater efficiency, agility, and competitiveness in today’s dynamic market landscape. For more advice on streamlining IT operations, consider booking a free consultation with us at SubcoDevs, where we can provide a complementary analysis of your scaling capabilities and strategic challenges.